The Deme of Epidaurus is an administrative district (corresponding to a municipality or a district) of the Periphery of the Peloponnese, in the regional district of Argolida. It takes its name from an ancient Greek city.
The headquarters is the village of Lygourio, the ‘historic capital’ being the village of Ancient Epidaurus. Ancient Epidaurus is a small modern town located on the site of the ancient Greek city, located on the coast of Argolis.
The city is full of monuments dating back to a very distant period, such as the Temple of Asclepios, which was founded long before the birth of Jesus Christ. The sanctuary of Asclepios is located inland, in the territory of the municipal district of Asklipio, about ten kilometers west of the coast, at the ancient place called ‘Hiero’.
The village of Piada was renamed Néa Epidavros (New-Epidaurus) after the independence of Greece in the nineteenth century. In 1822 it housed the National Assembly of Epidaurus, which was the first meeting of what is now the Greek Parliament. Nearby are the ruins of a Mycenaean acropolis.
The village of Ano Epidavros is another locality.
Epidaurus is famous for its theater dating from the 4th century BC. AD, one of the best preserved and probably the most beautiful theater of all ancient Greece. The theater is renowned for its perfect acoustics.
Originally, this place in the midst of the hills of Argolis was the sanctuary of Aesculapius, the divinity of Medicine. The sick went there to be cured by Aesculapius, who could either recover during sleep, or manifest themselves in dreams which the priests then translated into treatment.
These treatments could be accompanied by entertainments, baths, and physical exercises. Every four years, competitions of music and poetry took place in Epidaurus.
The theater comprises 55 rows of bleachers; it could accommodate about 14,000 spectators.
On the site one can also discover the sanctuary of Esculape where the patients and the vestiges of the stadium went. The museum gathers some objects, sculptures and pediments.